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Israel
Israel (Hebrew: Yisrael, Biblical meaning overcoming mighty powers, as Jacob struggled with an angel) is the state formed in the aftermath of World War II for the Jews of the world. It was felt in many places that the Jewish nation needed its own state to protect it from anti-Semitism. Since many Jewish people had already been to the area prior to Arab immigration (which grew mainly since the 1800s) to the land, before and during the war, and because of the historical associations with the Jewish people, the area now known as Israel was re-given to them. Roots of conflict Up to the 1920s, Jew and Arabs by and large lived peacefully. However, the situation changed with the instigations of the Mufti and Haj Amin Al Husseini (who later met and made a pact with Adolf Hitler) to "kill all Jews wherever they are." http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=7268 http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203440104574400532495168894.html http://geraldahonigman.com/blog.php?id=P98 http://books.google.com/books?id=1pLi3Cy8uQkC&dq http://memri.org/bin/articles.cgi?Page=archives&Area=sd&ID=SP189708 http://markhumphrys.com/israel.conflict.html http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3478505,00.html http://www.wnd.com/index.php?pageId=98947 http://www.pjvoice.com/v14/14102jewfree.html http://frontpagemagazine.com/Articles/Read.aspx?GUID=9F244E83-B445-4FEF-A42B-B72C4941D42E http://www.factsandlogic.org/ad_94b.html http://www.peacefaq.com/bigotry.html#whatro Egyptian cleric: The Jews "are enemies not because they occupied Palestine. They would have been enemies even if they did not occupy a thing." 6, 2009 They keep telling us that it isn't about "stolen land," and that land concessions and even the creation of a Palestinian state will not end the conflict. And we keep refusing to believe it. http://memritv.org/clip_transcript/en/2042.htm A certain amount of dislocation for the existing Arab population, it has long been a contentious decision. Many in the Arab world saw it as an act of colonialism, and many of the surrounding states (after achieving independence) made plans to destroy the state of Israel. In the early wars, the Arab forces greatly outnumbered the Israeli forces, but the Israelis were triumphant. Since then, there has been ongoing strife with resistance by organizations devoted to the cause of the pre-existing Arabic people, commonly known as Palestinians. In fighting this and in trying to construct a Jewish nation-state, the IDF have often been criticized for repressing the Palestinians and for seizing their territory. These issues are considered highly contentious to this day. Supporters of Israel point out that some of the enemies of Israel like Hamas have the declared aim of driving Israel into the sea. Other Arab nations in the area could easily provide homes for the Palestinians but they don't do so (apart from Syria, that is), either because they want the Palestinians to be poor and desperate and to fight Israel. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/1654510.stm Or because they want the Palestinians to get their own land back, or at least keep whar little of Palestine they still live on. Unsurprisingly this level of enmity encourages both sides to vote for increasingly militaristic parties. Israel is currently controlled by the right-wing Likud party, but its media tends to have a liberal edge. Israeli policies tend to regard the Arab community as an underprivaledged minority. This can be seen in disputing land issues, exempting Arabs from army duites, and providing Arabs affirmative action in education and employment. However, Israel has also taken militaristic approaches, attempting to secure its borders and impose blockades in light of rocket attacks and bombings from within. Israel has long been a strong ally of the United States, and this alliance has broad support among American politicians. However, conservatives are kind of creepy and religious about it. Geography Israel is a country in southwest Asia located on the southeastern edge of the Mediterranean Sea. It has borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the northeast, Jordan to the east, and Egypt to the southwest. The total area under Israeli law, including East Jerusalem and the Golan Heights, is 22,072 square kilometers (8,522 sq mi). The total area under Israeli control, including the military-controlled and Palestinian-governed territory of the West Bank, is 27,799 square kilometers (10,733 sq mi). The United Nations has recognised Israel's right to exist but has consistently asked Israel to withdraw to the frontier it had before the 1967 war. Israel has refused to do this. A large part of Israel's fresh water supply comes from the Golan heights, and Israel claims that forfeiting the Golan Heights would endanger its national security. http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Facts+About+Israel/Israel+in+Maps/Golan+Heights.htm Founding The United States, Germany, and India are among Israel's closest allies, Turkey was also considered a friend until the Israelis killed a number of Turks who were trying to get aid into Gaza. The United States was the first country to recognize the State of Israel, followed by the Soviet Union. The United States regards Israel as its primary ally in the Middle East, based on similar political and religious values, well the Unites States has some very good values like support for Democracy. Gay Rights Israel is one of the few states in the Middle East to have any kind of gay rights as most other states in that area are Muslim states and the Sharia isn't supportive of gays. The others being Iraq (even under Saddam Hussein) and Syria. Despite general Arabic animosity toward Israel, most Arabic gay rights organizations meet in Israel. Actions ''Warning: This section of the article is a total mess due to both sides of the current controversy being put into a blender and seasoned with bad grammar.'' Both Arabs and Israelis have been guilty of criminal actions in this war. The Israeli Defence Force currently occupies much of the land that Arabs claimed to be "theirs," in the West Bank and Gaza. Illegal settlements continue to be expanded into the former. The Golan Heights, is claimed by Syrian Arab Republic but which Israel needs for its water supply in a desert country, despite being coastal (salt water doesn't help for irrigation.) and an inland sea. (Galillee helps but doesn't provide enough water.) http://www.un.org/documents/ga/res/51/ares51-133.htm Islamic totalitarian party: Hamas was democratically elected to power in Gaza in 2007. Hamas aims to replace Israel with an Islamic Palestine http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/1654510.stm and has popular support. Arab Palestinian militant groups also launch rockets into Israel which kill Israelis indiscriminately though fewer Israelis are killed than Arabs because the Arabs are the only side that uses its own civilians, moreso kids http://www.jpost.com/Israel/Article.aspx?id=171009, so that Israel would look bad. Despite Israel withdrawing its forces from Gaza, a blockade is still in effect, Israel also initiated a program allowing the IDF to bulldoze the houses of suspected terrorists. When Israel withdrew from Gaza many of the Israeli people hoped for peace. Peace did not happen, instead anti Jewish violence grew, so did popularity of radical Hamas and calls for an Islamic totalitarian rule Caliphate http://www.imra.org.il/story.php3?id=27933, incitement & vilifying ANY Jews in official PA media, rockets were/are launched from (residential areas in) Gaza into Israel, resulting in further IDF incursions and even more Palestinian casualties. See also *Israel vs genocide *The Dead Sea References category:countries Category: Geography